Thanks to this organization, IDPs who have temporarily or permanently lost their homes due to the war can engage with the authorities of the communities in which they have settled.

People who have moved to another city or region of Ukraine because of the war can become full participants in economic and social life in the cities and villages where they now live. The Councils for Internally Displaced Persons under local authorities are an effective mechanism for this purpose. We have collected answers to the most frequently asked questions about IDP Councils and the assistance they provide to IDPs and communities.

Prior to the full-scale invasion, IDP Councils were established mainly in the eastern regions: Kramatorsk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kryvyi Rih, and others. Now, with the support of the United Voices in Action program, such Councils are appearing in many other regions, as the geography of internal displacement has covered almost all of Ukraine. IDP Councils make the communities stronger by helping local authorities to better understand the needs and potential of IDPs and by enabling IDPs to integrate into the local community and defend their rights.

Who are the IDPs?

IDPs (internally displaced persons) are people who have been forced to move from the occupied territories, the area of hostilities, the frontline zone, or simply from places where they felt unsafe during the war to other settlements or regions of Ukraine.

IDPs are not refugees: refugees are people who have left the country. The first internally displaced persons appeared in Ukraine in the early spring of 2014 when Russia seized Crimea. Subsequently, many people left the occupied territories and the frontline zone of the Donetska and Luhanska oblasts.

Before the full-scale invasion, there were one and a half million registered IDPs in Ukraine. After February 24, 2022, their number increased and reached seven to eight million, but some of them later returned to their homes. More than four and a half million Ukrainians are registered as IDPs (and not everyone gets registered). Millions more people remain in the occupied and war-torn territories, and some of them may also become IDPs. The Ukrainian government encourages people to leave these dangerous zones, but it is not always possible; moreover, people are often misinformed and do not understand where to go and what awaits them in a new place.

Where do people who leave the occupied, frontline and other dangerous territories settle?

There is a stereotype that IDPs go mainly to relatively “safe” regions, as far away from the frontline as possible. In fact, according to statistics, the Dnipropetrovska Oblast has received the most; Vinnytska, Poltavska, Kyivska, and Lvivska oblasts are also in the top five. The motivations and personal circumstances of internally displaced persons are different. Some of them rush to return home as soon as it becomes safer; some move several times within Ukraine. There are people who would like to return but cannot because they have lost their homes and jobs. A certain number of IDPs will stay in the new place for a long time or forever.

Why is it important for IDPs to live a normal life and integrate into the community in their new place?

IDPs are not guests: they are in their own country and, like all Ukrainians, have the right to choose where to live and what to do. The government provides financial assistance (two to three thousand hryvnias per month per person, which is often their only income), housing, and social services. However, it is useful for both the IDPs and the communities in which they settle to see new residents become full participants in economic life and taxpayers, start businesses and create jobs themselves, and volunteer and participate in civil society organizations. In addition, the successful experience of IDPs in a new place is a signal to those who are hesitant to leave dangerous areas. However, in order to integrate, internally displaced persons need to know their rights in the new community, such as to work, education, and health care, and the community needs to understand their needs and capabilities.

Why do IDPs need Councils?

It is their tool for dialog and engagement with the authorities. The Councils seek systemic solutions to issues facing IDPs, propose these solutions to local authorities, and participate in the development of joint decisions. They suggest how the authorities can help IDPs integrate into the community and effectively provide them with housing and everything they need in their daily lives. The Councils provide advice to international organizations that help Ukraine in general and IDPs in particular. Thanks to the councils, IDPs receive information on settlement and employment opportunities, access to social services, ways to get involved in community life, and more.

How have IDP Councils already helped IDPs?

In all the oblasts where the councils operate, they strive to help IDPs gain access to social services that are not available to this category by default. When at the beginning of the full-scale war, thousands of IDPs began to arrive in the cities with Councils, the Councils helped them to find housing, first temporarily and then long-term. In the Luhanska Oblast, after the start of the full-scale invasion, the IDP council participated in the evacuation of people and businesses.

In Kharkiv, the IDP Council helped the city council set up a center for the social and psychological rehabilitation of youth and organized a 24-hour telephone helpline.

In Zaporizhzhia, the Council secured the inclusion of displaced children in the Children of Zaporizhzhia program: now their families receive an additional thousand hryvnias of assistance for each child from the city budget.

In Kryvyi Rih, the Council helped to resettle people who had received temporary housing in modular houses into more comfortable apartments.

In Kyiv’s Obolon district (yes, there is an IDP council at the city district level), activists discovered an error in the Unified Social Information System that prevented some IDPs from receiving payments. They contacted the developers and got it fixed.

There are a number of examples where the work of the Councils has resulted in real apartments, kindergartens, transportation, medical care, and jobs for IDPs. The Councils also engage international organizations, foundations, and investors to help not only IDPs but the entire community.

How many people does the Council consist of?

Typically, an oblast council has 10-15 members. However, the Council’s meetings are open to the public, so anyone who is not a permanent member can join them. By the way, not everyone on the Council has to be an IDP: lawyers, volunteers, representatives of CSOs that support IDPs, experts, and others often join the Council.

How do IDP Councils differ from civic organizations that help IDPs?

An IDP Council is an advisory body to a state or local self-government body. Its effectiveness depends on understanding and cooperation with the authorities. CSOs can also interact with the authorities, but this is not their main goal. But representatives of CSOs that help IDPs often join the Councils because they know the needs of these people well and want to help them.

Are there not enough public councils under the state and local self-government bodies to solve the problems of IDPs?

Public councils deal with many issues: environmental protection, human rights, assistance to people with disabilities, transportation, urban environment… Of course, this list may include the needs of IDPs, but will they be addressed promptly and effectively? The IDP Council deals with the problems of a single, though sometimes a very large, group of people, so it can identify and articulate these problems in different sectors and find a way to solve them.

How did the idea of IDP Councils appear?

The idea emerged even before the full-scale invasion. The mechanism for creating such councils was developed by the Charity Foundation Stabilization Support Services. Currently, the Councils’ activities are supported by the United Voices in Action program implemented by the international organization IREX in Ukraine together with the Foundation and with the support of the U.S. Department of State. As part of the program, more and more IDP Councils are being created in different cities in Ukraine.

Should there be IDP Councils in every city or community?

Full-fledged Councils are needed at the oblast level (under oblast state or military administrations), as well as under local councils in large cities and communities. In small communities with a population of several thousand people, one advisor to the deputy on IDP issues is enough. The mechanism of IDP Councils will work best when they coordinate their actions and share experiences.

The United Voices in Action team recommends creating an all-Ukrainian Council in the future, where IDP Councils from all regions would delegate their representatives. It will cooperate with the authorities at the level of ministries and parliamentary committees. It will be able to propose changes to legislation and strategic solutions that will improve the situation of IDPs in Ukraine.

Read the material on the website “Hromadske.radio“